The Beautiful Gate

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

If we could see what was going on in the spiritual realm that surrounds us I guarantee our attention would quickly shift away from our present troubles to the real culprits wreaking havoc on our society these days. There's a far more serious battle going on behind the scenes than the day-to-day problems the world is facing.

It's THE war for souls.

It's the battle for the souls of our families, friends and countrymen.

And it is raging like never before in the history of man.

It is the battle for the souls of our children.

The all out, no holds barred, battle for the immortal souls of our loved ones

And WE are the soldiers in the front line.

Yes, we are it.

Little Davids fighting Goliaths the likes of which we have never seen before and never will again.

What is the cost of being part of this front line defense?

Everything you know or think you know.

Or as Dr. Peter Kreeft so succinctly puts it in his article, The Winning Strategy:T.S. Eliot defines the Christian life as: “A condition of complete simplicity/Costing not less than/Everything.” The price is everything: 100%. A worse martyrdom than the quick noose or stake: the martyrdom of dying daily, dying to all your desires and plans, including your plans about how to become a saint. A blank check to God.

A blank check to God.

The hardest thing we will ever be called to do because white martyrdom can be more difficult than red. Living can, at times, be more difficult than dying.

I am not downplaying the seriousness of the various crises that the world is facing right now, by any means. We have to address those as well.

But, there is more at stake here than the loss of our physical lives.

Eternity is at stake.

And the most frightening thing is:

Half of the people here on earth aren't even aware there is a war going on.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

This is how the story wentI met someone by accidentWho blew me awayBlew me awayAnd it was in the darkest of my daysWhen you took my sorrow and took my painAnd buried them away, buried them away (lyrics: Hiding my Heart by Adele)

There are little truths, small truths in life that we accept about ourselves, others, and the world around us because they are facts. Facts we can easily prove.

For instance, we know that bee stings hurt. Ouch. (Well, you may not know this but my arm knows this and assures you it's true. My hand knows this too, unfortunately.)

And then, there are TRUTHS.

You know, those TRUTHS that are so huge we can barely wrap our minds around them, and so...

... we prefer to ignore them most of the time.

But ignoring them doesn't take away the truth of them. We can ignore them all the day long but the time will come when we have no choice but to face them.

My life was a sad caricature, a mockery if you will, of what I was created for.

Can you imagine seeing your real true self and then realizing that you somehow created a false persona that didn't really even exist in the eyes of the Lord? And that you walked in this false self for fifteen years?

Heartbreaking.

This is what sin does to a person. It shrouds you in a cloak of filth that makes you nearly unrecognizable to the Lord.

And, sadly, it was extremely hard to let this false self go because it fit better into the "mockery" we've made of this world.

A world that should be readying people for heaven but is instead, prepping them for hell.

Because, the truth is, the world as we see it right now resembles hell more than heaven.

Billions are living lives that are a parody of who they really are.

These seem like harsh words but they are true, nonetheless.

TRUTH:

The moment you were conceived in your mother's womb you were born into eternity.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

At ease, folks, the "zucchini queen" has laid down her weapons (temporarily).

Yes, that means YOU, my dear neighbor who put the "DANGER! MINE FIELD!" poster up on my lawn, may freely step out onto your front porch once again without fearing a zucchini apocalypse.

Though, do be aware I planted some fall crops.

Just giving you a heads up.

But who really worries about tripping over spinach and sugar snap peas, right? It's the zucchini that folks run away from most of the time and here in the Northeast zucchini season is winding down. (Except for this ONE massive zucchini plant that WILL NOT DIE. It's kind of spooky actually.)

I mean, they get a "twofer" when I have to pluck BOTH slugs AND tomato hornworms out of my garden.

Tomato hornworms make me shudder. From a distance they look like little green puffed up cartoon character caterpillars but up close they are like something out of a B rated horror flick. Fat, gushy, and twice the size of a grown man's thumb.

The souls in Purgatory are tickled when I come face to face with Mr. or Mrs. Godzilla T Hornworm.

Me, I simply close my eyes, reach out a gloved hand, and PLUCK.

Pluck, yuck, offer up.

Pluck, yuck, offer up.

There's a sacred rhythm to it, my friends.

I can still hear the echo of the poor souls now:

"Bean beetles coming up next! And there are thousands! Yee haw!Fling those gates open, St. Peter!"

P.S. (Yuck! I mean, SHEESH, did you SEE the HORN on that thing?! And it looks like it has dozens of eyes on its sides to boot! God should count them as a "threefer", don't you think?)

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

I love reading books about Catholic spirituality and every once in a while I'll come across one that stands out from the rest. Trusting God with St. Therese by Connie Rossini is THE best book I've read all year and the one that has been most helpful to me spiritually. Which is saying a lot since I've felt somewhat "stuck" spiritually these past few years.

Well, this book "unstuck" me. It helped me examine my level of trust in the Lord and I soon realized that I didn't trust the Lord as much as I thought I did. This book has helped me immensely in this area. Over the past year I had been questioning the Lord as to why it seemed as if I was not making much progress in my spiritual life and I feel that Connie's book was an answer to prayer for me. She asked me to be a beta reader for Trusting God with St. Therese so I was able to really immerse myself deeply into the book and I can't get over how greatly it has enriched my spiritual life.

One of the things that really struck me as I read Trusting God with St. Therese is the amount of spiritual ground Connie Rossini covers in this book. She makes it very easy for the reader to grasp the spirituality of "The Little Way". I'm not sure I've ever read a book quite like this. The format is unique in that it not only leads us through defining moments in the lives of both St. Therese and the author's but also shows us how to incorporate the way of "trust and love" into our own lives. The book breaks away from formats used in traditional saint and spirituality books while at the same time giving the reader a big glimpse into the life and spirituality of one of the greatest saints in the Catholic Church. There are many books on St. Therese out there BUT NONE LIKE THIS. The chapters in this book cover areas such as: the three spiritual stages, the importance of the early years in the development of trust, signs of a lack of trust in God, despair and how to overcome it, forgiveness, suffering, dealing with emotions, scruples, presumption, etc...

I can't count the number of times over the years I have read a book on Catholic spirituality and at the end have felt as if I am still in the dark as how to integrate what I have learned into my own life. Not the case with this book. I found the "Questions for Reflection" and "Practical Suggestions" at the end of each chapter extremely helpful. (This would be a great book for book clubs!)

Trusting God with St. Therese may possibly be the most spiritually significant book I have read in years. I highly recommend it.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

I have a great devotion to the pierced side of Christ and the Divine Mercy. When I started this blog I decided that the URL and the name of this blog would not be the same. On purpose. I thought people would automatically see the connection between the two but many don't and I am often asked why they are different. I thought I'd explain a bit since some may find it interesting.

I wanted to point to the first two instances of Divine Mercy during the 3 o'clock hour after the Crucifixion.

The first takes place when Jesus dies. In Luke we read that at 3:00 in the afternoon when Jesus dies the "veil of the temple was torn down the middle". Mark says: "The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom" (see also Mt. 27: 51). They are making a connection here to the temple in the Old Testament. So, Jesus' death rends the veil that barred people from entering the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctuary of the temple where none but the high priest could enter on the Day of Atonement in the Old Testament. In the inner sanctuary of Solomon's temple was the Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat covering it. John, however, doesn't mention the veil like the other three gospel writers. Instead he says this, "But one soldier thrust his lance into his side and blood and water flowed out."

The Centurion who pierced Jesus' heart was the first to receive Christ's Mercy in the three o'clock hour. The veil of the Temple of God was rent and blood and water flowing from His side converted the soldier.

The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous; the red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the depths of my most tender Mercy at that time when My agonized heart was opened was opened by a lance on the Cross.... Fortunate is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him. (The Diary of St. Faustina)

This soldier, without understanding what he was doing, opened the floodgates of mercy upon the world.

His wounds are the gates by which we enter into His Mercy. Especially His Heart wound.

From all My wounds, like from streams, mercy flows for souls, but the wound in My Heart is the fountain of unfathomable mercy. From this fountain spring all graces for souls. (The Diary of St Faustina)

The second instance was the crippled man at the Beautiful Gate of the temple:

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple area for the three o’clock hour of prayer. (It was a Jewish tradition to pray at certain hours of the day. This included the 3 o'clock prayer hour. Today,we continue this sanctifying of the day in the Liturgy of the Hours.)

And a man crippled from birth was carried and placed at the gate of the temple called “the Beautiful Gate” every day to beg for alms from the people who entered the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms. But Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” He paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, [rise and] walk.” Then Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles grew strong. He leaped up, stood, and walked around, and went into the temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God. (Acts 3:1-8)
While I was praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet one day, the words, "My wounds correspond to the gates of the temple," popped into my mind. So, thinking this had likely come into someone else's mind as well, I decided to Google it and found this link: Enter His Gates. If you scroll over the picture you will see how the gates line up with His Wounds and how the Heart Wound lines up with the Holy of Holies.

Therefore, brothers, since through the blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary by the new and living way he opened for us through the veil, that is his flesh, and since we have "a great priest over the house of God," let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. (Heb. 10: 19-22

The Crucifixion of Our Lord is superimposed upon this world across space and time. When the Heavenly Father looks down upon us, He sees us through this superimposition of Christ's great sacrifice. I guess you could say, He sees us through the wounds of Christ. Through his Blood. This means everyone has access to God's mercy unless they turn away from it. It cannot be taken away unless we give it up. Because of Christ, mercy is the rule not the exception. Christ does not walk away, we do.

To get an idea of what I mean, take the sun for example. The earth is always in the presence of the sun, even during the night. We may not be able to see it because of the earth's rotations. Yet, it is always there. We could not exist without it.

So it is with Jesus. He is the "Holy Covering" of poor, sinful humanity.

I saw a great light, with God the Father in the midst of it. Between this light and the earth I saw Jesus nailed to the Cross and in such a way that God, wanting to look upon the earth, had to look through Our Lord's wounds. (The Diary of St. Faustina)

Thursday, May 1, 2014

To appoint to them that mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. Isaiah 61:3
Until my experience in the presence of Jesus' mercy I hadn't realized that God would (or even could) step into someone's life in such a way. Despite my Catholic upbringing, I had never heard of this happening to anyone and didn't know what to make of it. Since then, I have heard many other beautiful conversion stories and they are all miraculous to me. Some of stories that others told me included "visible" manifestations of God's love, some "invisible", but all are miraculous in that they transformed the very heart of the person.

When God returned my soul to my body, I was dumbfounded. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before. You mean God wanted ME? Despite all the sin and the years away from Him?

Yes, He did want me. He loves sinners and now I understood that this love for sinners included me. I had wanted to go to Confession for quite some time but was afraid. Afraid that my sins were too numerous, too ugly, TOO MORTAL to be forgiven. I had been taught by the nuns when I was young that those who committed mortal sins went to hell. I had committed mortal sins and was going to hell. Period. (Hey, I was probably out with one of my "fake" bellyaches on the day they explained that even mortal sins could be forgiven so don't blame the nuns.)

One of the fruits of the time I spent in His Presence was the overwhelming urge to go to Confession. It was a pressing, burning desire to go. So I did go. The very next day. Only to hear, "I am sorry but I can't absolve you until you get the problem with your marriage fixed." The priest was very nice and I could tell he felt bad but it hurt because I wanted that absolution more than anything in the world right then.

One of my friends spoke to her Pastor about my situation and made an appointment with him for me. (She actually called me said, "You're going to see him and that's that!") Best thing that could have happened to me. When I spoke to him, he explained that I could go to Confession and receive absolution (with certain conditions met ) and that we could attend marriage classes at his parish.

And let me tell you...that Confession was the best ever. This was an elderly priest and I'm sure I burned his ears off that day but he never batted an eyelash. He took me through the commandments one by one and never even flinched at my muttered, "Errrr...that would be too many times to count, Father. I can't give you an exact number. Can we just say numerous times? God knows I lost track."

When I was finished we were both crying. He told me that I made his day and that THIS was the reason he became a priest.

Thank God for our priests. And thank God for good friends who don't listen to your arguments and do what is best for your soul instead.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

I was sick of the way I was living my life but sin had such a strong hold on me that I didn't see a way out.

And I despaired. Oh, did I despair. The despair was so great that it overwhelmed me. My life lay in ashes all around me. If you read the link in my last post maybe you know what I mean. It was one of those shocking moments that lays bare the truth of your life (who and what you are, at least at that point). It was an ugly "snapshot of my life".

One evening while my husband was at work I sat on the edge of my bed and cried out to the Lord, "Jesus, I am fed up with my life!"

Instantly, I was in the presence of a great light. There was no bedroom, no bed anymore. I think my soul was plucked from my body but I have no real way of knowing. All I know is that I was in the Presence of great Love and Mercy and that it was the Heart of Christ. This was not conveyed to me with words but through an instantaneous knowledge. Rays pierced my soul and I received an immense healing. I could not SEE His Heart only the rays that pierced my soul from every side. The soul doesn't see as it sees here on earth - I could see completely around me all at once. Above, below, and around. There were rays of two distinct colors - a deep, rich red and a paler color, an extremely pale pink. I say pink but pink isn't really the right word to call it. There isn't really a color here on earth that describes it. Neither color was a color I had ever seen before. I don't think they exist here. It was as if the pale color was slightly tinged with blood giving it the pinkish cast. There was no blue at all like you see in some Divine Mercy pictures.

I didn't know about St. Faustina, her Diary, or the Divine Mercy picture at the time. I remember how stunned I was the first time I saw it. Her Diary shocked me even more because I immediately understood what Jesus was trying to say to the world through St. Faustina. I understood the messages in a way that's hard to convey sometimes but it is something I am going to attempt to do on my blog, God willing. I have no doubt that the mercy I received came through the intercession of St. Faustina and the prayers of those here on earth who prayed for me and I have no doubt that Jesus is calling all sinners to

trust in his mercy.

I'm not exactly sure where to start when speaking of Jesus' Mercy so I want to say that this particular Divine Mercy Sunday is a very special one and we should all open our hearts to Jesus' mercy like never before.

Warning: this is a long post. I am breaking it up into sections to make it easier to read. AND to make it easier for me to write. This is my testimony. I call it (to myself ) The Harrowing of Hell because Jesus harrowed the hell that was in my soul. The hell that I had created through my sin and disobedience.

Hell is a place but it is also a state of being, a spiritual state, and this is a state I lived in for over a decade. Closer to 15 years, really.

To put it bluntly, I lived in a state of mortal sin. And living this way had darkened my mind to such a degree that only God could have pulled me out of it. We don't SEE this gradual descent into hell when we lack God's light and grace. It is only in retrospect that it becomes obvious; when grace has lifted up the heart and mind. Then we begin to see it clearly.

Today, looking back, I can see where it all began. I left a door open and satan used that door to begin his siege upon my soul. At the time, I thought it was just a "small thing". I was a teenager and didn't think it was a " big deal".

Boy, was I wrong. Very, very wrong.

I started skipping Mass. As simple as that. First it was occasionally....but within a few years it was every week. I stopped going to Confession too.

Everything spiraled downward from there. I see now why the Catholic Church stresses the importance of going to Mass on Sundays. If only I had payed attention to the "under the pain of mortal sin" part.

Because mortal sin is the most painful thing in the whole world. Trust me on this.

It wounds you in a way that may not be immediately apparent but powerfully impacts every moment of your life afterwards. It's truly a mortal wound to the soul.

I didn't know that then, but I do now.

That first mortal sin led to another and another. An early sign of this is a darkening of the mind, as evil infiltrates the person's thought life to a greater and greater degree. The person stops fighting against the evil and begins agreeing to it to one degree or another. Then they start justifying it.

This is what I found myself doing.

The temptations started off small but grew over time.

Worldliness set in.

Soon I was breaking a couple of the Ten Commandments regularly. This is the way sin works - it has a snowball effect and gathers both speed and size as it rolls down the hill, especially when the person isn't doing anything to actively stop this descent. Oh, I would maybe pray an Our Father or a Hail Mary before going to bed at night but that was the extent of my spiritual life at the time.

When I look back I can see how much the Seven Deadly Sins came into play during this period of my life. They marched in one by one and, unfortunately, I did nothing to stop this takeover.

Then came the nightmares. These started in my early twenties after I started listening to heavy metal music. I had certainly had nightmares in the past ...but nothing like these. These particular nightmares came regularly and were hellish to say the least. In these dreams I would be up to my knees in muck surrounded by reptilian creatures and these creatures emanated pure evil. I would wake up with my heart pounding, unable to go back to sleep.

It occurred to me that the music I was listening to was pretty bad, the names of the bands were a good clue that this might be the case, but I didn't really hold much stock in the idea that music could be spiritually harmful. Besides, I was doing other things at the time that were far worse. I was sinning against purity regularly so being concerned about the music I was listening to seemed too small a thing to worry about.

What a mistake. I knew nothing about guarding the mind and senses and unwittingly opened a door that would be hard to shut. People don't usually connect music with the occult but certain types of music have a similar effect on the soul.

The nightmares got worse. Pretty soon instead of simply being surrounded by demons, they were attacking me. The nightmares and the sense of evil were so great I began having panic attacks during the night.

Would it surprise you if I told you I started praying more around this time?

Didn't think so. Fear driven, but prayer nonetheless. My mom had given me a set of rosary beads that I kept on my bedpost (but rarely used) and I began praying a decade or two of the rosary here and there. I also began saying Hail Mary's whenever I had nightmares and the sense of evil would lift almost immediately.

One night as I was about to doze off a terrible presence filled my room. I could not see it but I knew it was there. I wasn't asleep yet and I could see the clock on my nightstand clearly - it was 2:04. I was lying on my back with my head turned toward the side. This "presence" attacked me and was trying to get into my body. A suffocating feeling along with a feeling of pressure came over me and I felt paralyzed. I have read about and experienced "sleep paralysis" in the past and this was not it. (I have my thoughts about "sleep paralysis" though.) I was not asleep yet. I immediately began yelling (in my head), "Mother Mary, help me!" Within seconds, the evil presence was lifted away from me and was gone. I thanked Mother Mary and heard two words in my head, "St. Michael", so I thanked him too. I didn't know much about St. Michael back then but that was soon to change. Interestingly, I was staying at my parents' house at the time, having recently given up the apartment I shared with one of my good friends, and my mom had a big St. Michael statue which sat on a ledge over the front door.

I was dating Randy at this point and trying to clean up my act a bit (note the words " a bit") as far as sin went. He was too, but neither of us were really going to church though I had sneaked into the back pew a few times and listened to Mass. (Out of fear, once again.)

Randy and I got married a few years after we began dating. But guess what? We were married by a JP.
Randy came from a Pentecostal/Baptist background and I still wasn't attending church much. Deep inside, I didn't really feel married. Makes sense, right? I felt guilty, not married.

Looking back though, I could see that God was beginning to move in my life. I was praying more often and started reading spiritual books, some Catholic, some non-Catholic. Someone had given me a book about angels that I gobbled right up and I started asking my guardian angel for help. St. Michael too. I had a fascination with St. Michael ever since the nightmare I mentioned earlier.

The nightmares had improved for a while but shortly after I married they came back with a vengeance. They were so horrible that I was exhausted during the day and afraid to go to sleep at night. Randy was working in the evenings at the time and I would usually read until he came home. I was going to the library a lot and bringing home big stacks of spiritual books each week - some were good Christian books and some were a bit "off " but it didn't take me too long before I began to discern the difference between the two. One kind made the nightmares worse while the others made me feel peaceful inside.

One night, a few months after we were married, Randy and I went to a nearby club to listen to a friend's band. And that was the night I did something really stupid...

Yeah, that's a link if you want to read about the really stupid, embarrassing (a fitting word, you'll see, what I did fits right smack into the middle of that word after the em) thing I did.

"Today bring to Me the Souls who have become Lukewarm, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. These souls wound My Heart most painfully. My soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls. They were the reason I cried out: 'Father, take this cup away from Me, if it be Your will.' For them, the last hope of salvation is to run to My mercy."

Most compassionate Jesus, You are Compassion Itself. I bring lukewarm souls into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart. In this fire of Your pure love, let these tepid souls who, like corpses, filled You with such deep loathing, be once again set aflame. O Most Compassionate Jesus, exercise the omnipotence of Your mercy and draw them into the very ardor of Your love, and bestow upon them the gift of holy love, for nothing is beyond Your power.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon lukewarm souls who are nonetheless enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Father of Mercy, I beg You by the bitter Passion of Your Son and by His three-hour agony on the Cross: Let them, too, glorify the abyss of Your mercy. Amen

Friday, April 25, 2014

"Today bring to Me the Souls who are in the prison of Purgatory, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice."

Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You, and yet, who must make retribution to Your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, that there, too, the power of Your mercy may be celebrated.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded: Manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way but only through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion. Amen.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Seventh Day
"Today bring to Me the Souls who especially venerate and glorify My Mercy,
and immerse them in My mercy. These souls sorrowed most over my Passion and entered most deeply into My spirit. They are living images of My Compassionate Heart. These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death."

Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of Your mercy. These souls are mighty with the very power of God Himself. In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward, confident of Your mercy; and united to You, O Jesus, they carry all mankind on their shoulders. These souls will not be judged severely, but Your mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate Your greatest attribute, that of Your fathomless mercy, and who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy, and their hearts, overflowing with joy, sing a canticle of mercy to You, O Most High! I beg You O God:

Show them Your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You. Let there be accomplished in them the promise of Jesus, who said to them that during their life, but especially at the hour of death, the souls who will venerate this fathomless mercy of His, He, Himself, will defend as His glory. Amen.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Sixth Day
Today bring to Me the Meek and Humble Souls and the Souls of Little Children, and immerse them in My mercy. These souls most closely resemble My Heart. They strengthened Me during My bitter agony. I saw them as earthly Angels, who will keep vigil at My altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. I favor humble souls with My confidence.

Most Merciful Jesus, You yourself have said, "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart." Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy and they are the heavenly Father's favorites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God Himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon meek souls, upon humble souls, and upon little children who are enfolded in the abode which is the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by the love You bear these souls and by the delight You take in them: Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

"Today bring to Me the Souls of those who have separated themselves from My Church,

and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. During My bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart, that is, My Church. As they return to unity with the Church My wounds heal and in this way they alleviate My Passion."

Most Merciful Jesus, Goodness Itself, You do not refuse light to those who seek it of You. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Church. Draw them by Your light into the unity of the Church, and do not let them escape from the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart; but bring it about that they, too, come to glorify the generosity of Your mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Son's Church, who have squandered Your blessings and misused Your graces by obstinately persisting in their errors. Do not look upon their errors, but upon the love of Your own Son and upon His bitter Passion, which He underwent for their sake, since they, too, are enclosed in His Most Compassionate Heart. Bring it about that they also may glorify Your great mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Fourth Day
"Today bring to Me those who do not believe in God and those who do not know Me, I was thinking also of them during My bitter Passion, and their future zeal comforted My Heart. Immerse them in the ocean of My mercy."

Most compassionate Jesus, You are the Light of the whole world. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who do not believe in God and of those who as yet do not know You. Let the rays of Your grace enlighten them that they, too, together with us, may extol Your wonderful mercy; and do not let them escape from the abode which is Your Most Compassionate Heart.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who do not believe in You, and of those who as yet do not know You, but who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Draw them to the light of the Gospel. These souls do not know what great happiness it is to love You. Grant that they, too, may extol the generosity of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.

St. Faustina Prayers

One of my favorite saints

The Tree of Life

From the corner of my eye
Nailed to a tree
I caught a glimpse
Of your plans for me
O Author of Life
Creator Divine
The Great I Am
O Love Sublime
You stooped down low
And infused in me
By the merest touch...
Eternity